From Crooners To the Pop Culture Movement – A Look at the Music of the 1960’s

From Motown to Woodstock, the 1960’s proved to be a wide swung pendulum of musical tastes and talents. As the 1950’s ushered in the vast array of genres being offered up to a diversifying nation, 1960’s America took the torch and continued on course. Hot off the presses in 1960 was the formation of Motown Record Corporation. This would be the vessel that would launch the careers of numerous soul artists. Legendary talents like Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson got their start with Motown.

Legendary Crooners – Bing Crosby, A Man of Many Talents Who Had the World on a String

The age of “crooning” became popular through Crosby with only Rudy Valee contending for the title of “the first crooner.” In 1948, Bing Crosby was dubbed the “most admired man alive” and broke never-before-seen record sales throughout the 1950’s. His first number one hit, “Ol Man River” in 1928, was a metaphorical hit from the Broadway musical Show Boat. Bing performed with several bands before going solo in the early 1930’s. The phrase “Bing is King” became synonymous with his unparalleled rise to musical stardom.

Crooners, Jazz and Rock and Roll – Serving Up a Smorgasbord of Music of the 1940’s

Jazz and big band still reigned supreme during the early forties as signs of do-wop and rock & roll music were brewing beneath the surface. Music was deliberately designed to distract a devastated nation. Some of the iconic names in American music surfaced during these wartime years. Name like Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey were topping the charts. Blues and early American pop were also on the forefront with greats such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore, Kate Smith, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. Their various styles of music crossed over lines of genres and an entire smorgasbord of music was being served up to an ever-changing community of listeners.

Custom Acoustic Guitar Options: Tonewood, Shape, and Fretboard

When looking to build a guitar yourself, or to hire a luthier to build one for you, you’ll discover that there are many more options that you may originally have thought which go into the creation of a custom acoustic guitar. Wood selection, shape, size, binding, purfling, and many other items are part of the decision and design process, and many of these have a profound impact on the sound and tone of the instrument, not to mention the look and feel. Let’s define and examine three of the major choices you’ll have when building a custom…

What Is Acoustic Guitar Purfling?

I’ve been looking to design a custom acoustic guitar, which is a daunting task even just from a research standpoint. There are so many options in terms of wood, shape, body size, hardware, etc. So I’m finding it’s good to do a lot of learning before ordering anything, so that I am clear on what the options are and what they tend to add to the cost.

How to Read Music for the Guitar

A guitar pick is a triangular-shaped tool that is used to strum guitar strings to make chords, or individually pluck strings to play melodies. Learning guitar by reading music has many advantages: the ability to read music provides a lot of information that you can usually only get when you spend time with a more proficient musician who is willing to show or explain techniques to you. Read this article to know more on guitar topics.

The Best Beat Programs for Music Production

Are you looking for the best beat programs for creating music? Look no further! This article will show you the two most popular products on the market: DUB Turbo and Sonic Producer. They’re by far the most popular and that’s for one reason and one reason only…they are the best!

How to Choose the Right Saxophone for You

When learning to play any musical instrument, one of the most important steps is to make sure that the instrument you choose is just right for you. If you have decided to learn saxophone, this can be especially true. How do you know which to choose?

Make Music Online With Music Software

Many people are discovering just how easy it is to make music online by use of music making software. Getting started is very simple, all you need to do is download your chosen product to your computer, install it and then you can start making some tracks.

What Music Instrument Is Best for You?

People who have a strong inclination to music will surely want to learn to play any musical instrument. But choosing the musical instrument that you want to learn may not be too easy to decide since there are lots of musical instruments available for you to play. One interesting type of musical instruments that any music enthusiast would like to learn is the woodwind instruments.

How to Care for Your Saxophone

Musical instruments can actually last a lifetime if they are given proper care and the saxophone is no exception to that. It can be passed as an heirloom from one generation to another. The quality of the sound produced by the saxophone will also largely depend on how you properly care for it.

The History of Woodwind

Woodwind instruments include any of those that produce sound by blowing across a wooden reed, double reed, or the lip of the mouth hole. They got their name from the fact that they used to be carved from wood, with the exception of the saxophone, which is historically a newcomer to the family and has never been made of wood. This is a very popular musical family that has maintained its popularity over the years because of the beautifully rich sounds they produce.

What to Look for in a Music Teacher

As the term implies, music teachers teach music. But there are many kinds of music teachers. Some teach vocals, some teach instruments while others teach only the theory of music, and some may do a combination of those mentioned above.

Do You Really Need a Performance Contract?

Find out if you really need a performance contract. What do they involve?

Four Things To Consider When Picking The Right Trumpet Mouthpiece

Trumpet players, as well as musicians that play any brass instruments, always tend to come across the issue of picking the right mouthpiece. If the wrong mouthpiece is being used, even the best trumpets in the world can sound horrible. With each having a different effect on the trumpet sound, there are many different things to consider when shopping for a mouthpiece.